The dangerous and mutating arms trade in the horn of Africa

EDITOR:

Bob Koigi, Nairobi

Despite numerous sanctions and embargoes against arms trade in Somalia, the business continues to flourish as the country remains a microcosm of a trade that has been blamed for the proliferation of transnational terrorist groups, the war in Yemen and drug smuggling.

Numerous studies have also mentioned Djibouti as a significant player in the shipment of illegal arms to militia groups in the Horn of Africa. In fact, the country has been mentioned as a conduit for arms that are transported from Yemen’s Houthi territory, with the weapons eventually finding their way to Northern Somalia’s Awdal region using the AMISOM mission.

Indeed a majority of companies working in Djibouti’s marine sector have been implicated in the illegal trade with a sea of evidence identifying top government officials as active participants in this racket. Yet no action nor sanction has been imposed on anyone to date.

The recent peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been a major win for the fight against the illegal weapons trade as Eritrea, which has prominently featured in the business, removed itself from ties to the trade in the spirit of reconciliation. The terror group Al Shabaab as well as armed militia from Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia have been known to receive their weapons from Eritrea for a long time.

It is now time to tame Djibouti and all other routes where these illegal arms have found easier passage. The spillover effects of the illegal arms trade to wars in and out of the continent should jolt the international community and the African Union to action if the world wants to avoid further bloodshed. It is now no longer a matter of if, but when.